Archive For: Relationships

Wear Their Shoes

The Wheeler Centre is Melbourne’s home for smart, passionate and entertaining public talks on every topic.

Coming out of some of their talks, they have placed “Discussion Markers” around the city of Melbourne.

Here is one I saw on Chapel St last week.

It got me thinking about our current political situation as well as considering good leadership in general.

As a leader (and you are a leader whether if be formal or informal) the concept of “walking a mile in their shoes” is one that continues to be powerful.

What is truly going on for those around you and how do they feel about you
Do you ask people on your team to do things you would not be willing to do yourself?
Are you giving advantages to those you know or those you can benefit from?
Are you fair to all you deal with?
Do you have a solid understanding of the impact of your decisions and actions?
Do you deliver on your promises?
Do you actions match your words?
Are you really a dickhead but no one has told you yet?

While these are fabulous questions for our politicians they are equally as valid for you as a leader.

So, do you wear their shoes?

Can You See Stars?

Img: WikiArt

I love starry nights. Even Van Gough’s classic above is fantastic. The problem with living in the city is that they are hard to see.

Last night I drove a friend to a country location where she will be running a workshop today. As I got out of the car, I looked up.

It was stunning.

Without the light pollution you could see the ceiling of the world covered in twinkling points of light. Some of these stars already don’t exist and we are just seeing their echoes, others will keep burning for eons to come. Not only was the night sky clear, I also had a moment of clarity on my place in the world and what is truly important.

What about you?

Are you surrounded by “life pollution” that doesn’t enable you to have clarity on what is really happening and your true position in the world?

Can you back away from the smoke and mirrors and truly see what counts for you and however you measure your success?

Too often we get caught up in our own thoughts and lose focus on what really counts.

Maybe it’s time to step away from the life pollution and ask yourself, “Can I see stars?”
PS Huge thanks to all those who have taken advantage of the 2 for 1 May Sale on Get More Inspiration. If you want to find out more or get your two copies of the book while I pay postage and give you additional bonuses, head to this website.

Let’s Celebrate!

There are so many reasons to celebrate.

Yesterday was Mothers day, my brother also turned 50, my sister has a recently purchased a new house, I just turned 48, my dog is awesome and I have the best wife in the world.

Sometimes you can celebrate for professional reasons as well. Your project finished, you got a new position, you got a bonus, your boss left or even simply that you turned up to work!

As long time readers will know, I am a huge believer that if you make Celebrating Success a Habit, you will make success a habit.

So I wanted to celebrate my recent 48th birthday by giving you a present.

WARNING – THIS CELEBRATION INCLUDES OFFERING A DEAL TO YOU TO BUY SOMETHING (But it is an AWESOME deal!)

Of late I have been receiving some fantastic feedback on my Get More Inspiration book. One person said, “I thought this might be a fluffy motivational book and I was surprised that I really like the additional structure, reflections sections and tips. Great work”

Another said, “My husband never reads books but he really liked yours”

Ok, so I don’t want to turn this into a huge sales letter but I really want to celebrate, so here is the deal. If you want a burst of inspiration in a book that is specifically designed NOT to be read (you just flick and read a two page story at a time) then I want you to have a copy of the book. The great news is that it is a workbook as well. It has places to write your ideas and actions, but that means you won’t want to lend it to friends. No problem as I have the solution!

For the month of May 2016 if you order the physical Get More Inspiration Book, I will give you a second copy absolutely free so you can give it to a friend. I will also pay the postage to send both copies to you and I will enroll you in my Get More Done in 90 Days ecourse worth almost $300.

So that’s $385 worth for only $34.95

How does that sound?

If you are interested click the order button to make it happen.

If you are a eBook kind of person, sorry but I can’t do a magic deal for you. What I can do is direct you to the Amazon store where you can get it for only $11.99!

For my US Based buddies, you can hit your Amazon store here.

Maybe you will choose to celebrate some other way and that’s ok. What is important is that you always look to celebrate success.

So how will you celebrate success?

It’s a Wrap

Whew! After 4 and a bit weeks of touring around the USA and Canada and meeting interesting people, places and things, we are home.

While it was a great time, there were a few challenges (part of the reason there was no newsletter last week). So what I wanted to do is give you a few quick thoughts and some other bits from the trip.

1) Travel. Nothing makes you appreciate your life more than going to visit other countries (or other parts of your own country) and see how they live. It also expands your mind in a way that you can no longer go back to old thinking.

2) Stretch yourself. We drove over 6,500 km which meant 6 or 7 hours driving some days. This lead to a lot of conversation time in the car which enabled my gorgeous wife and I to connect strongly, share ideas and thoughts and make plans for the future.

3) Have fun. Many of those hours driving we spent singing, telling stupid stories and being creative in some way. We rarely played the radio or music and we had a stack of fun.

4) Talk to people. We had some great conversations with complete strangers, some were challenging due to a difference in values and beliefs and others were intriguing to discover their perspective. The picture above shows us sharing my birthday dinner with over 2,000 people at the Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. They had a very different perspective on things.

5) Plan for things to go wrong. We had a few interesting experiences. When we landed home in Melbourne, our car had a completely flat battery. At the conference we had unexpected snow (See the 90 second video here). Having a few “What if …” ideas up the sleeve helped.

6) Enjoy the really good things. We were staying in some very cheap accommodation and also some very nice accommodation (that latter had indoor fountains!) Who were we not to enjoy it? You can see a video of it as well as a quick comparison of the Aussie and USA meetings industry here

7) Share it. I have put many photos and stories on Facebook as we have travelled. So many people have commented on how much they enjoyed them and felt like they were having a holiday too (except we paid for it!) We also have catch ups with friends planned who want to hear all the detail about the trip.

8) Repeat it. The value from this travel is so significant that we have more trips planned, the next one is likely to be Vietnam. Why would you stop your own personal growth?

So have you got anything planned?

PS While I was away, two more episodes of the almost award winning show, Get More Success have been released. You can see/hear them here.

PPS May is a special month for a couple of reasons but you have to wait to next week to find out why (and what the special deal is!)

How Do You See It?

This weekends Certified Speaker Professional Summit was held in Denver Colorado.

I got so excited because on the second day IT SNOWED!

Now the others at the conference were less than excited. Snow could mean delays, flight cancellations and missed appointments.

While both perspectives are valid and based on difference experiences, one caused less stress than others.

Some of those with internal flights started worrying about cancellations straight away and others took the approach, “we see how it is tomorrow” and turned their focus on the sessions at hand.

Every situation has different perspectives. Some highlight your fears, others your dreams and some reflect the situation as you see it.

No one perspective is better than the other but some do make your life easier and less stressful.

What about what is going on in your life and business? Do you see the problem, the alternative or some other perspective?

So how do you see it?
PS I am celebrating my birthday on Tuesday. To help celebrate I have a gift for you. But I can’t deliver it until I return in May. So keep your eye out for the gift in May!

Open Your Mind

In two sleeps, my gorgeous wife and I are off to the other side of the world. As you can see, Google Maps optimistically says it will take 14 hours and 10 minutes to get there. You and I know it will take a lot longer.

But the first world problem of sitting in a steel tube that flys through the air in the same way that bricks don’t (credit to Douglas Adams for that) is nothing compared to the pay off.

Travelling brings perspective.

It enables you to appreciate all the small things you take for granted that you can’t get, do or have while overseas.
It reminds you how good your own quality of life is when you see the quality of life of others.
It shows you the truth about a place not just the romanticised version you may have or the photoshopped pieces on FarceBook.
It gives you an appreciation of other cultures and sub-cultures regardless of how similar or different they are to your own
It is humbling as it allows you to see your own problems for what they really are and to acknowledge how blessed your life really is.
It opens your mind to new ideas, new opinions, new perspectives, new ways of being and thinking.

So how open is your mind and do you need to go travelling to open it a bit further?

Huge Thanks!

Oh My Lawks A Lordy!!

Thank you so much for your support with the Get More Success show launch.

It went off with a huge bang. At one stage it was number 2 on the business podcast list (ahead of Seth Godin!!)

As my way of saying thanks I have put out a bonus episode on Small Business Social Media Solutions that I would love for you to listen to.

OK – now on to non-Get More Success related business.

Is the Customer Right?

I am a huge believer that the customer is NOT always right, but they are always the customer. Sometimes they get confused, things go wrong or it is just a combination of smaller issues that combine to make a bigger one. There is NO excuse for not treating the customer well.

My gorgeous wife and I went away with our B&B crew of 8 people last weekend. We got a message on the Thursday saying the previous tenant had broken the thermostat so there would be no heating. The owner said that they never needed heating so we should be ok. An email dialogue ensued.

The outcome was, we had no heating in a house with massively high ceilings on a very cold weekend in a cold part of the state. The house owner didn’t seem to care.

Naturally I am following up because I believe we deserve some kind of compensation. I am confident that the home owner doesn’t care as his approach to customer service was appalling. Even the responses to feedback on AirBnB were poor. Someone left a positive comment and he let fly at them for not cleaning the BBQ and leaving cigarette buts in the garden.

How are your customers? Do they sometimes get a little confused, ask the super obvious question or ignore the instructions you have previously given them? They may be wrong or even appear a little foolish but they are always the customer and deserve to be treated positively. How do you treat them and does that need to improve?

Grand Opening

WOO HOO!!

I am so excited that after some serious procrastinating, some hard work, bursts of inspiration, serious doubts, more procrastinating, more work, home made design, a lot of interviewing, a stack of support, the kindness of friends and some techo gurus the Get More Success show is now live!

Over the coming years I will be interviewing people from all walks of life and find out how they define success and what are their success tips that you may be able to apply to get success in your life.

As an added bonus, the show will also include excerpts from the Get More Speaker Success monthly blab. This is a group conversation with a more lighthearted approach that covers issues in the speaking, meetings and events industries. It has some great ideas if you are looking to run events.

Because of the increased demand in the visual media, a lot of my interviews are also on video as well as audio. So if you like to look at what is happening, feel free to watch as well as listen.

You can see/hear the show at The Get More Success website.

BUT I NEED YOUR HELP

The first couple of weeks of a podcast’s launch are important to help get traction. So this is where I need your help.

If you like the idea of the show as well as the first couple of editions that are out there, I need you to subscribe to the show in iTunes if you are an iTunes user.

This will trigger some of iTunes magic goodness and increase its profile and shoot it up the charts which then makes others want to look at it.

So I would love it if you could give me a boost.

It’s really easy. Just click this link to see the show listing.

Click on the “See in iTunes” button on the left of the screen

When iTunes opens, click on the subscribe button.

At the very least, head over and listen to Wayne Thompson from the Australian Type Foundry talk about how he creates fonts and some of the icon advertising pieces you have seen in advertising all over Australia (including the Optus “Yes” speech bubble).

So what is new in your life? What have you achieved after grinding away for what seems like years? How can I help you achieve success?

What’s On Your Mind?

It was a big weekend after an even bigger week.

Friday I was hosting a client “talk show” to profile their new and upcoming software releases for their top 70 clients. There was a teenage birthday. Saturday had meetings reviewing the annual residential and future direction on similar events as well as catching up with other training and video production colleagues. Sunday was hang out with my gorgeous wife in the morning, big dog walk and then a few hours of finances and a BAS statement.

Phew!

What better way to chill out than to take the beast for a fang up to Drouin only 75 km away. (If you are not sure, click here to see where it is on Google Maps.)

At our recent residential retreat, Therese Sheedy was instrumental in guiding us through what it mean to be mindful and how that benefits you, your energy levels and your overall health. Motrobike riding is a great way to be mindful.

The secret of mindfulness is to be only thinking about what is happening here and now. If you don’t do that on a bike, you crash!

For me it was great to smell the countryside, be fully aware of the traffic around me (including the dude who was speeding and cut me off), and think of nothing but what I needed to do to keep safe. I didn’t even know where I was going. It took me awhile to decide and only then did I realised I had missed the turn off. No problems – I set a new destination of Drouin and just kept going.

So What?

Ok, so I get you don’t really care that I have gone off on a motorbike ride.

Here is the point: I took time out to forget the rest of the world, the rest what was happening in my life and become a Human Being and not a Human Doing. Not only does that charge my batteries it also makes me easier to be around, more grateful for what I am already experiencing in life and better able to manage the issues that I am facing.

So how do you get present?

How do you let go of everything around you and just “be”?

It is incredibly important to empty your mind at times, so what mechanism will you use to do that?

Feel The Love?

It was Valentines Day yesterday. The day that cynical people agree card companies and florists created to increase sales.

The less cynical among us would say it is a great day to celebrate our love in the world.

My Mum would agree it is about love. She is celebrating 7 years since she started “going out” with Dudley. (She initially changed her Facebook status to “in open relationship” then too but that is a different story!)

For my dog Winston (who looks very similar to the poodle above) it is just another day to love everything equally. Whether it is going for a walk, having a drink, meeting you at the door, being served dinner or joining you on the couch, there is always the unconditional love that he has.

What an excellent way to be in the world. What an amazing way to treat others. What a joyous force for good that would make us if we could do the same.

I love the concept that I should try and be the person my dog thinks I am. What an amazing person I would be then.

So Winston and my wish for you is that EVERY day is Valentines Day. That you look for things you love. Get excited about the small things and live each day to it’s fullest.

So are you up for the challenge?

What’s Your Policy?

A few years ago my good friend Simon told me about a recruiting policy that the company he worked for had. It wasn’t a written policy but it was a cultural policy. That is, everyone knew about it and there was an understanding that it had to be met by all applicants.

I was talking with Natasa, a speaking colleague on Friday and she has the exact same policy for her clients. She and her business partner actually wrote theirs down in long form but the title of the policy and it’s intent is the same.

So what is the policy?

Quite simply it’s “No dickheads“.

What that means for Simon and Natasa is that any potential employee or client automatically goes through the scan of “are they a dickhead?” If the answer is yes then they do not get the job or become a client. It is a very simple way of formalising a gut feel or a vibe that the person you are dealing with is not going to be fun to be around.

Do you have a policy?

With all of the people that you deal with on social media, in real life, at work, in your business, at events, we need to be able to choose quickly as to whether we want to engage with them or not. The No Dickhead policy is an easy tool to help you choose who you invest your time and energy with.

So what’s your policy?

PS I came across this excellent list of 30 Improv Rules that Lead to a Happier Life. It is an excellent list of life policies to consider as well.

Who Do You Listen To?

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Small minds discuss other people, average minds discuss events and great minds discuss ideas.”
Dr Nido Qubein said, “Who you spend time with is who you become.”
Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people around you.”

So who do you spend time with and what do you talk about? Personally, I spent last Friday hanging out with this bunch of legends.

We all attended the Platform Professionals day long session arranged by the Professional Speakers Association.

To attend you have to be a Certified Speaking Professional.

This is not an easy designation to achieve. You have to prove you have the Expertise, Eloquence, Enterprise and Ethics of a professional speaker.

Not everyone passes the test because we don’t just accept anyone.

The kind of people in the room have spoken all over the world, published many books and other products, spoken in front of audiences of 20,000 people as well as continued to make sure they spend time with their families and friends.

The ideas we spoke of have generated a significant to do list for my business but everyone learnt something different.

There is a power in mixing with amazing people – whether it be face to face, reading a book or listening to a podcast. Too often we settle for a smaller, lesser place in the world. Can I urge you to play it bigger?

Can I suggest that you track down some people who you admire, buy them lunch and discuss ideas with them. Maybe even ask to have a 20 minute phone conversation. Sure they could say no, but what if they say yes?

So who do you spend time with and what do you talk about?

PS It you want to spend time with some fabulous people and kick off your 2016, join us for the weekend retreat at the end of January. You can see the details here.

Can You Sleep at Night?

Ethics are so important in business, yet also so boring and dull. Most people can’t identify their ethics or what drives them so how can they make the right decisions?

A recent article regarding the Dick Smith company talked about how venture capitalists made huge amounts of money. But at what cost? They essentially stripped Dick Smith of all its assets and sold it off to an unsuspecting investors (typically Mum and Dads who know the brand). It is now in the control of administrators. While the vanture capitalists made a stack of money for the few, what damage to the many?

A recent Forbes article talks about how a recent Gallup poll rate corporate executives near the bottom when measured on ethics and honesty. It goes on to show how the ethical approach is the more successful long term. That business is seen to lack ethics and are not to be trusted is a poor indictment on businesses today.

I make my decisions based on my core values. Those are to Inspire, Energise, Influence and Have Fun. They guide to do what is right for me and to better serve others. Those who have registered for the 2016 Kick Start later this month will go through the Values exercise to determine what counts for them.

So what about you? What counts for you? How are your ethics? What do you do when no one is watching? What do you base your decision making process on?

Do people trust you, but more importantly, can you sleep at night?

What’s Your Success?

Here are a couple of thoughts on success and what you can do to build your own.

The video is only 2 minutes but the lessons lasts a lifetime, so click play and enjoy.

Wisdom from Winston

This is Winston, our Toy Poodle. Yes, you are right – he IS a very manly dog.

He turned two last month and I wanted to share with you some of the lessons he has taught us in that small time. They are valuable lessons that my help you in life.

Constantly show your love for others. Bark at them, lick them, sniff them, jump up and down – do whatever it takes.

Share your stuff. If someone comes to visit, be sure to share your toys with them. They may have fun with it too!

If it feels good, do it. It may be weird to sit on the heater vent with your ears blowing in the warm air, but it feels good.

Snuggling is good. Even sitting on the couch watching TV, it is good to snuggle in and be loved.

Say hello to strangers. Just because you haven’t met them before, doesn’t mean you can’t be friends.

Welcome home your loved ones. Whether they have been gone 3 seconds, 3 hours or 3 days, show them how excited you are to see them.

Tell others what you want. Whether by scratching at the door, dropping your toy at their feet or sitting on their head to get attention.

Do everything with enthusiasm. It is not just a walk, it’s A WALK! It’s not playing, it’s PLAYING! Let your enthusiasm be contagious.

Who would have thought such wisdom would come from such a delicate being?

« 1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 16 »

Archive For: Relationships

Wear Their Shoes

Can You See Stars?

Let’s Celebrate!

It’s a Wrap

How Do You See It?

Open Your Mind

Huge Thanks!

Is the Customer Right?

Grand Opening

What’s On Your Mind?

So What?

Feel The Love?

What’s Your Policy?

What’s Your Policy?

Who Do You Listen To?

Can You Sleep at Night?

What’s Your Success?

Wisdom from Winston

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